Within the Myriad Dao Pagoda, a mysterious energy was gradually born from its ancient materials.
Li Wei could distinctly feel the contrast between the environment inside and outside the pagoda.
Everything outside seemed to move more slowly than inside; Li Yuanshang and the clansmen all appeared to move like sloths, while his own speed remained normal.
Combined with the pagoda's maximum limit—the nine-times time rule—a flash of enlightenment passed through Li Wei's eyes.
"Time... speed, nine times the speed..."
He vaguely felt that he had captured the existence of the rule of time, representing another application beyond his technique, 'A Single Thought'.
Just for this alone, Li Wei felt this trip was entirely worth it!
Soon after, he slowly closed his eyes, and his divine sense began to capture the most supreme rule in this world.
...
A year quickly passed.
[Year 853]
[As the war in the Western Frontier yielded victories, the entire nation celebrated.
Empress Wenren Xianyi inspected the various prefectures of the Imperial Dynasty.
The common people, immortal clans, and sects all lined the streets to welcome her.
Wenren Xianyi issued decrees benefiting the nation and the people, and the voices supporting her within the Imperial Dynasty grew louder.]
Inside the Heavenly Palace of the Imperial Capital.
Wenren Xianyi returned from her inspection and arrived at a resplendent place deep within the Heavenly Palace, securing an audience with the Human Emperor.
The Human Emperor was truly old, dressed in plain clothes, looking like a mummified corpse.
He appeared devoid of even half a fraction of majesty.
Wenren Xianyi looked at the Human Emperor with a complex expression.
Back when she was still a concubine, she had witnessed His Majesty's authority with her own eyes.
When he sat in the royal court, no one dared to utter a single word.
As she gradually gained favor through the Wenren Immortal Clan, she had accompanied His Majesty on inspections just like now; even the Dragon Emperor of the sea domains had to obey his commands and dispatch divine dragons to bestow rain.
The people of the world all admire the strong, and she was no exception. But that kind of Human Emperor had now been reduced to this dying state.
"Your Majesty, your concubine has returned from inspection. The chaos caused by Crown Prince Sheng and Fei Heng has already been salvaged by your concubine."
Wenren Xianyi's tone was gentle.
Yet seeing the Human Emperor remain silent, not even raising his old eyes, her peerlessly beautiful face forced a difficult smile.
"Your Majesty, even those at the Body Integration realm possess lifespans of over a hundred thousand years. Why have you become like this? Open your eyes and look at your concubine."
"Your concubine is cleaning up the mess of your Zishu family, your mess!"
Her words grew increasingly intense.
"Why won't you open your eyes and look at me? Back then, in the prime of my youth, I came to your side.
You were the Human Emperor, the Human Emperor of the entire world, the number one person in the mortal realm.
The weak submit to the strong, and I accepted my fate, but what about you?!?"
"I now realize that you are nothing at all. You are just a dying man."
"You couldn't control the Wu Tribe, even though you clearly could have expanded a vaster territory for our Imperial Dynasty.
You can't control the likes of Min Youguo and Lin Jiu; every single one of them harbors selfish motives.
You especially can't control the Emperor Realm and Mahayana cultivators. You made them hide from the world, but how could you not foresee today?"
"Now, I will take control!"
After Wenren Xianyi's angry rebuke, her twisted features gradually grew serene, ultimately becoming gentle and warm.
She said softly, "I will help you finish what you haven't finished. The Wu Tribe broke into our Imperial Dynasty and awakened the people of the world; I will exterminate the twelve totems of the Wu Tribe."
"Min Youguo and Lin Jiu confront each other. They are both enemies and friends, mutually suppressing one another.
You said their hearts lie with the Human Race and not with you; I will believe you this once.
Under my layout, they will go fight the Demon Race. They only have this one path to walk, so they won't fight each other to the death."
"Just remember one thing."
Wenren Xianyi headed toward the door, her shadow falling directly in front of the Human Emperor.
Her voice was faint, "I dedicated tens of thousands of years of my time to you. Now that I am pacifying the world for you, this world is mine."
Outside the room, four figures emerged from the shadows. Their auras were powerful, and they departed along with Wenren Xianyi.
The room door closed.
Yet unbeknownst to her, a single strand of hair fell silently into the room.
The withered old figure opened his cloudy eyes and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
His aura transcended past and present as he silently took out a medicinal pill.
"Human Emperor Pain-Relieving pill. What kind of messy nonsense name did the little girl of the Li Clan give this? Truly disrespectful."
He then swallowed the pill and finally struggled to crawl upon the ground.
Picking up Wenren Xianyi's strand of hair, he lay on his side on the floor.
A flash from the spatial ring on his hand produced a bamboo cylinder holding numerous divination tokens.
He struggled to shake the cylinder. As those tokens shook violently, a fine silk thread appeared on Wenren Xianyi's hair.
The Human Emperor's old eyes looked outside the room, unexpectedly seeing a giant, intricately complex net formed by thousands upon thousands of fine silk threads.
Until a token fell to the ground, revealing the character on it.
Ominous.
"Heaven-damned karma, will these ominous omens never end?"
The Human Emperor murmured to himself, lying flat and gazing up toward the ceiling.
Up there was also a massive net, completely made of tokens.
Ominous, Ominous, Ominous!